Southwest Airlines To Bring Industry-Leading Travel Tools To Business Travel
Southwest Airlines Co. announced it is making it easier than ever to manage business travel on Southwest® with the addition of its new travel portal, Southwest Business AssistTM. The self-service tool will enable Corporate Travel Buyers, Travel Decision Makers, and Travel Management Companies to better manage their Southwest Airlines® business travel using unique dashboards, reports, automated processing of contractual benefits, receiving or requesting customer service, and much more.
Southwest Business Assist is anticipated to be available to current Southwest Business Partners starting Aug. 24, 2022.
“Southwest Business Assist is a transformational one-stop shop for our Southwest Business Customers as we deliver industry-leading capabilities on one of the most advanced platforms available today,” said Dave Harvey, Vice President of Southwest Business. “The on-demand self-service tool will provide easy access to real-time information, reporting, and benefits designed to improve efficiencies and communication for our business travel partners and continue our journey of making it easy to manage business travel on Southwest.”
When the first phase of Southwest Business Assist is available, it will bring a variety of new features to the business travel community, including:
- Travel funds management
- Enhanced insight to contractual benefits, account performance, and dashboards
- Expanded sustainability reporting
- Increased automation with real-time capabilities and service
More features are planned as additional phases of Southwest Business Assist are released, including duty of care reporting, the ability for travel managers to manage eligible flight credits, and additional automated functions.
Streamlining Products & Services
Southwest continues to implement new tools and programs to enhance its offerings to business customers. EarlyBird Check-In® is now available to be booked within Travelport and Amadeus global distribution systems (GDS) and it is planned to be available in Sabre. The airline also recently added Mexico itineraries that can now be booked within the participating GDSs. Additionally, Southwest rolled out Airline Tariff Publishing Company’s (ATPCO) Express Contracts and Routehappy to further enhance and streamline the management of business travel programs on Southwest.
Southwest Business continues to evolve by enhancing its offering, including rewarding companies booking and traveling on Southwest as well as rewarding its travelers through Rapid Rewards Business. Launched in 2021, Rapid Rewards Business gives participating companies and their travelers the ability to earn Rapid Rewards points, which can be used for travel on Southwest Airlines*.
Three Years in the Making Southwest Airlines Business Travel
Southwest Airlines is also celebrating its three-year anniversary since Southwest Business launched and began bringing the “Southwest Effect” to business travel. In that time, the carrier invested heavily by adding industry-standard capabilities to Travelport, Amadeus, and Sabre’s GDSs, growing its Sales Team across the country, adding a Priority Desk for account support, continuing to build behind-the-scenes technical capabilities to support growth while setting itself apart from others by the People that make up the Southwest Business Team.
“Through the exceptional hospitality our people showcase, our industry-leading and business-friendly benefits, and zigging when others zag, Southwest Business continues revolutionizing the way business travel is done,” said Andrew Watterson, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, Southwest Airlines. “I am immensely proud of what the Team has already accomplished and look forward to seeing the Team capitalize on their continued success.”
*All Rapid Rewards Business rules and regulations apply and can be found at business.southwest.com/Terms-and-Conditions. Qualifying flights include flights booked and flown through Southwest and flights paid entirely with dollars, Southwest LUV Vouchers®, gift cards, or flight credits, and with no portion of the purchase price paid for with Rapid Rewards points or Rapid Rewards Business points.
